DA sees no immediate wrongdoing in Tartaglione matter

Inquirer City Hall Staff

In the Philadelphia Board of Ethics settlement agreement released earlier this week, Renee Tartaglione admitted to participating in the re-election campaign of Philadelphia state Rep. Angel Cruz - by ordering 2,000 sample ballots that deliberately misled voters who wanted Cruz back in office.

That and other political activities were enough to get Tartaglione, the 27-year-long chief deputy of the City Commissioners Office, in trouble with the ethics board. She wound up quitting as a result, and agreeing to pay a $2,700 civil fine.

But her actions aren't enough to trigger the interest of District Attorney Seth Williams, not so far anyway.

Press aide Alexandra Hackett told the Inquirer in a statement this morning that the ethics board had not referred the Tartaglione matter to the District Attorney's office.

"We are aware of it and have made a preliminary review of the Board’s findings," the statement said. "We will be considering whether the matter merits additional consideration, although it appears that the only possible violations are those of the city code, and in this instance, summary violations.